Gene Wilder Net Worth

Gene Wilder, the American actor, writer, and director is best remembered for his signature role of Willy Wonka in the 1971 classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.” Gene Wilder has always been famous in the Hollywood circle mostly for his stellar performances and sometimes for his personal life, marriages, and affairs with his co-stars.

The comedian has made us laugh a lot, but his own life has been tragic. Gene Wilder died in 2016 because of complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Since 2003, he had been actively writing novels and memoirs in preparation for his death. Want to know more about the personal life and the net worth of Gene Wilder? Then scroll down.

Early Life & Biography:

Gene Wilder was born as Jerome Silberman in the year 1933 in Wisconsin, U.S. in a modest Jewish family. He started acting at a very early age, as his parents recognized his potential and sent him to Hollywood. He did learn acting formally in Black-Foxe in Hollywood where, as he revealed later in his life, he was also bullied and sexually abused. Gene Wilder’s parents were Russian Jewish immigrants, and he was raised a Jewish.

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Gene Wilder’s first performance was in a theater where he played a small role in the classic drama “Romeo and Juliet.”

Personal Life:

Gene Wilder’s own life was quite interesting and sometimes tragic too. Being born a Jewish, he was bullied at school. He married four times. His first wife was Mary Mercier whom he married in 1965 but got divorced from five years later. His third marriage was with actress Gilda Radner. Unfortunately, Gilda died of ovarian cancer in 1989 and this deeply saddened the comic. The actor did a lot for cancer patients after her death. Gene mostly worked with directors like Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor.

Career, Awards, & Nominations:

Gene Wilder got his first breakthrough in the 1967 motion picture “Bonnie and Clyde,” but he played his first significant role in “The Producers.” He was nominated for the Academy Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor for this. However, the movie which made him immensely popular, especially among the kids as a comedian, was the 1971 cult classic “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Gene Wilder also produced, wrote and directed movies. “The Young Frankenstein” which he co-authored got nominated for the Academy Awards. His debut as a director was “The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ Smarter Brother.” In his later life, Gene became more of a writer and wrote many novels and memoirs.

Net Worth & Earnings:

Gene Wilder died in his Stamford house which is worth around $1 million, though he always lived a modest lifestyle. His former ranch-style Bel Air mansion was bought by Tesla’s owner Elon Musk for around $7 million. The net worth of the Gene Wilder was about $20 million at the time of his death.

The primary source of his earnings were his movies, TV shows, and in the later part of his life, novels and memoirs he wrote. Apart from a mansion and other property, he left his books, novels, screenplay writings and a lot of other intellectual property for his inheritors.

The loved American comic died in 2016 which was really tragic for all the “Willy Wonka” fans, but he will always remain in our hearts. Gene Wilder came from a modest background but still made it large and gained everybody’s appreciation through his stellar performances. The actor may not have been as rich as other Hollywood stars at the time of his death, which is rare to see but will always remain one of our favorite actors and comedian.